Read It To Me

So Many Fabrics...So Little Time!

I am often asked about doing various themes for "Read to Me" pillows based upon a child's interest, a nursery theme, a parent's interest (i.e. college allegiance), and sports teams, to name a few. I am delighted when I am asked, "Can you do....?" Custom orders are exciting for me. I immediately go on the hunt for the fabric, whether on-line or to brick and mortar fabric stores. I thought I'd share many of the possibilities of themes in this post.,

Princess pillows are a popular request. This fabric is particularly delightful as it displays whimsical princesses in a variety of hair colors and skin tones. It is also one of my favorite go to's when someone requests a "non-Disney" princess "Read to Me" pillow.

There are a wealth of fabrics available for a Disney Princess "Read to Me" pillow. I like this one, as it shows 4 Disney princesses with the saying: "Princesses Rule!" and "Dare to Dream!" What fun!

I found this fabric for a young adult who was interning at Disney World. Rapunzel was one of her favorite Disney characters. This fabric was a great find with all its quotes. It was perfect for empowering this young woman at the very beginning of her career. Thus, her mom and I decided on "Dream!" as the embellishment.

Minnie Mouse is not technically a Disney princess, but don't tell her that! Disney has some great Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse fabric. If Minnie Mouse encourages reading to a child, she is a princess and so much more in my book!

I loved doing this pillow for a young boy who loves wolves. The background accent fabric is just beautiful!

I have had quite a few requests for toddlers and beyond for animal pillows. There are some great realistic prints of puppies and kittens. They always turn out so cute. I have been able to match up some snuggle flannel fabrics with some of them that make them extra soft.

Who can resist those faces? This was an absolutely adorable "Read to Me" pillow that could be given with so many wonderful puppy books.

So many puppies, so much energy, and oh so very, very cute!

Spencer loves all things polar bears and his grandma loves Spencer! Both the polar bear fabric and accent fabric are stunning.

Dinosaurs have long been a favorite of children. I like this print because it represents them in what we know to be a more realistic print, rather than a cartoon likeness. While I enjoy the bright cartoon dinosaur prints, I couldn't help thinking of some of some of the very serious 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade boys who educated me about dinosaurs and the correct pronunciation of their names. Thank you Ryan and Sawyer. Yes, I remember you, and as a teacher, learned a lot about dinosaurs and so much more from you!

As much as I like embellishing the pillows with "READ"..."READ"..."READ", I can appreciate the desire to personalize a pillow with a young reader's name, and the pride of a young reader of seeing their own name on a pillow. I'm all about promoting the love of reading and life long learning. I hope Allison will enjoy this very, sweet, kitty "Read to Me" pillow.

I am a committed life long learner and making these pillows has kept me current with the viewing interests of the toddler set. I recently learned about Safety Paw Patrol and was more than happy to find the fabric for a pillow for Henry.

Peppa Pig is another star of PBS and there are some delightful fabrics associated with her . I found the whimsical cupcake fabric and thought it was a perfect pairing with Peppa Pig.

Thomas the Train "Read to Me" Pillows are very popular.

The author Ian Falconer is the creator of one of my favorite pigs: Olivia. She is such an individual, with style and spunk. Fabric lines, like books are printed and then eventually go out of print. Being a big fan of Olivia, I purchased quite a bit of fabric when it was available. It is becoming increasingly difficult and more expensive to purchase. I still have some left in my stash. I just did one for a little girl named Olivia and was happy to personalize it.

Goodnight Moon is a forever classic for little ones. This is an example of a line of fabric that has been out of print for some time, but I was lucky enough to find some fat quarter prints available on an Etsy Shop.

I like to do "Read to Me" pillows based upon actual books. Pete the Cat is a particular favorite at the elementary level. Pete is one groovy cat and the books always express a positive message. My latest great-nephew is a real mover, who doesn't like to sit still. I thought Pete the Cat was perfect for him.

Pillows Inspired by Bill Martin, Jr. and Eric Carle

I love everything Eric Carle and Bill Martin, Jr.! I was so excited when a line of fabric featuring the art of Eric Carle was created. I've lost count of how many baby quilts I've made using fabric featuring The Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, and The Happy's. My fabric scraps for these projects became the inspiration for my "Read to Me" pillows. I began playing with the fabric scraps and the rest is history!

I had great fun playing with all of these fabric prints and colors!

Need a Baby Shower Gift ?

"Read to Me" pillows are often given as baby shower and newborn gifts. Many times, the givers ask for themes related to nursery decor. Elephants are a popular request. I love this sweet elephant print in pink or blue and the coordinating script fabric. Welcome to the world, little one!

Here's another elephant themed "Read to Me" pillow. The colorful elephants just pop against the gray and white chevron background.

The clever fox is another nursery print favorite. These colorful foxes, adorned with all their various accessories, against the gray background, are just so much fun!.

Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister, is another modern classic children's book with a wonderful message. I was so excited to discover the line of fabric that accompanies this wonderful children's book. The material has glitter scales incorporated into the fabric. It is absolutely delightful!

I had a request for a camouflage "Read to Me" pillow. I was thrilled to find a bark accent fabric and equally thrilled to think that the pillow is promoting reading to a young man. When I was teaching, sometimes a parent would tell me their child wasn't interested in reading. My response was, "Then, we haven't found the right books." Often times the "disinterested" reader is interested in non-fiction. These are children that like the facts! Think: National Geographic Kids, The Guinness Book of World Records,I Survived series, animal books, space books, and more.

Sports themed pillows are popular. Most national and college sports team have a licensed fabric line. Pittsburgh Penguin Hockey "Read to Me" pillows are a favorite in Western Pennsylvania. I hope my pillows will "Shoot and score!" with young readers.

Here We Go Readers! Here We Go!

Sports themed fabrics at the national and collegiate level are readily available on line and in the states hosting these teams. I made this pillow for a little one whose parents are Penn State alumni, and therefore, forever fans. I suspect this little girl will grow up to be a Penn State fan, too!

I was pleased to find this fabric that incorporated baseball, basketball, soccer, and team images.

I have had requests for My Read to Me Pillows for young adults. I haven't decided on a "name" for this type of pillow. They tend to be "message" pillows that support a young adult's passion, college, or participation in the armed services. I usually make these pillows larger: 18" to 20" square. The pillow pocket could easily hold an iPad, Kindle, or laptop computer, as well as magazines, books, and notebooks. An aunt had this pillow made for her nephew, who is a cadet at West Point. I was honored to make this pillow for him.

I've started making graduation pillows for young adults. This pillow is for my husband's niece that is graduating high school and will be going to the University of Indiana in Indiana. I am able to get fabric associated with most colleges on line. Some colleges are very popular and there are several choices of material. I can also make a collegiate pillow from a t-shirt. (See the Buzzer Bee pillow below, made from an elementary school t-shirt.)

I was able to create this pillow for a young woman who adored Buzz Lightyear and Woody. The center panel is actually from a toddler's t-shirt that I purchased through Walmart. I thought the colors and graphics were much bolder, than the actual fabrics that are currently available. The fabrics were definitely more juvenile, and I wanted something that reflected this young woman's creative spirit and her love of the color blue. (Call me geeky, but I thought the stars on the accent fabric were like the original stars on Disney's opening credits!)

Here is another pillow that was inspired by my own spirit wear t-shirt from Bower Hill Elementary School. This was the elementary school where I spent my last years of teaching and I wanted to upcycle it in some way. Thus, was born another "Read to Me" pillow. I plan to donate this pillow to the school. Buzzer Bee is our mascot, who reminds us to always: "Work Hard, Learn a Lot, and Be as Busy as a Bee at Bower Hill School!"

I embellished the back of the Buzzer Bee pillow with our school's saying.

I made this pillow as a request for a "church pillow". The parents wanted to have a pillow that their son could pack with his Bible story books and maybe a snack or two for church. The youngster could read his books and if he got tired he could also lay down on it. I was thrilled to find this fabric that reminded me of one of the first songs I learned and loved: "Jesus Loves Me!" Unfortunately, this line of fabric is becoming more difficult to find and I would've purchased more, had I known that it may be out of print.

There are some great tractor prints for the little farmer. I grew up in a town where many were employed by John Deere Tractor Works. International Harvester fans need not dismay. There is a line of fabric featuring the red tractors, too!

The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.”~ Dr. Seuss

I have had so much fun making all different kinds of Dr. Seuss "Read to Me" pillows. Check them out!

Cat in the Hat

One Fish, Two Fish

Green Eggs and Ham

Action figures are always popular. Carson loves Batman and his grandma wanted to nurture the love of reading with his interest in everything Batman!

This fabric is just stunning! The photo doesn't do it justice. The fabrics are embellished with white glitter. The pillow sparkles. A great-aunt ordered this pillow to welcome Epernay into the world. Epernay's parents are astrophysicists and Epernay's great-aunt wanted something to reflect her parent's chosen profession and passion.

So much fabric...so little time! There are many great fabrics. The above fabric made up into another great space themed pillow.

This pillow was made for a young boy who loves the United States flag! God bless him!

My husband has helped me customize and personalize a few of my pillows. Zach is the show dog champion on this pillow. Isn't he just grand?! His owner, Kathy Harrington, is a retired principal who also has a passion for raising show dogs. Zach also qualifies as a therapy dog and has many requests to visit schools. I made this bag for his visits to schools with his owner. My husband was able to import the photo below into Photoshop to change the background to a royal blue and print it on canvas. Needless to say, this was all done with the permission of the owner. The favorite book for Kathy and Zach to read on their visits to schools is "Go Dog Go!"

One thing led to another, as is usually the case with creative minds! I decided Zach needed his own bookmarks to distribute to young readers on his school visits.

Kathy Harrington, proud owner of Zach, with one of his ribbons.

The Peters Township Library of McMurray, PA, has a special relationship with the author and illustrator: Jackie Urbanovic. The children's librarians wanted to have a "Read to Me" pillow made featuring the cover of one of her books, as a thank you gift to her. Once again, I enlisted the help of my talented husband to print a copy of the cover of one of her books on canvas. Jackie Urbanovic's books are delightful. Take a look at her books which include: Duck Soup, Duck at the Door, Duck and Cover, and Sitting Duck.

Memory Pillows

I've made some Memory Pillows which reflect the life of a loved one. There is a lot of love in these pillows, from the giver and when given to family members. I take special care in creating these.

This is the Joe Bonk pillow. I made 4 pillows for his family: wife, 2 daughters, and his brother. Joe was a graduate of Carnegie Mellon and long time professor at CCAC: Community College of Allegheny County. Joe was a much loved husband, father, friend, educator, and so much more. He was known for always wearing suspenders, frequently with a black turtleneck. He had quite a collection of clever suspenders, but this particular pair were his favorite. After all, he was a teacher of math, engineering, and a life long learner with so many interests.

My friend commissioned these pillows for uncle's daughters. The request was for a pillow that honored a proud Irishmen, who loved the beach and his family, and always wore suspenders. I love a challenge, and I was committed to honoring this loving family man in a way that reflected his passions in an adult, sophisticated pillow. I was pleased to find this muted beach fabric and inset it with an Irish blessing. Yes, the suspenders are his, too.

Now you have it--a collection of some of the pillows I have made and can make. I am happy to say that I have been able accommodate all requests for various themes, so far. All of the "Read to Me" pillows come with a card recommending a "few" of my favorite children's picture books. The more involved I become with books and pillows, the more I feel like I want to add to this list. Click HERE for the post on a few of my favorite children's picture books.

This has been a never-ending post. I wanted to showcase all of the possibilities and I kept wanting to "add just one more..." Finally, I am ending this post, but I wanted to show you two new fabrics I was very excited to find.

Won't this princess and unicorn fabric make a beautiful "Read to Me" pillow?

How about these great panels from Dr. Seuss's "Oh, The Places You'll Go!" There are 8 different panels with varying scenes from the book.

I can hardly wait to make up these newest finds into "Read to Me" pillows. So much fabric, so many possibilities, and so many, many books to enjoy reading with a child!

Please contact me at hanigjonesj@gmail.com, if you like anything you see in this post, or have an idea for a theme to match the young reader in your life. I welcome the opportunity to collaborate on making custom pillows to encourage reading!